hodgson



l. G. HODGSON.

CAN COATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION mu) MAY 5. 1913.

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CAN comma MACHINE.

APPUCAHON FILED MAY 5, I913- 1 1 96,1 1 1 Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

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nibwasw': {Hyman W Jalml dflagwn M fly To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN G. HODGSON, OF MAYWOOD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO AMERICAN CAN COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CAN-COATING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 5, 1913. Serial No. 765,573.

Be it known that 1, JOHN G. HODGSON, a citizen of the United States, residin in Maywood, in the county of Cook and tate of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in. Can-Coating Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in can coating machines.

One object of the invention is to provide mechanism for evenly and unformly spreading or distributing lacquer or other protective coating material over the interior walls of sheet metal cans or other form of container vessels without the necessity of dipping the articles to be coated and without thlf use of sprays, brushes, swabs and the li e.

Other objects of the invention are to pro vide a carrier in the form of an endless conveyer having a plurality of chucks rotatably mounted thereon in combination with means for slowly tilting or tipping the chucks from an upwardly inclined position to a downwardly inclined position simultaneously with the rotation thereof; and to so arrange the endless conveyer that the chucks are utilized twice during each complete cycle of movements of the conveyer to thereby obtain the maximum efliciency of the apparatus.

The invention furthermore consists in the improvements in the parts and devices and in the novel combinations of the parts and devices as herein shown, described or claimed.

The operation, briefly described, of the machine is as follows: The cans or other vessels to be coated, first have deposited within the same a. predetermined quantity of the lacquer or other coating material, after which the cans are then placed by hand or otherwise in suitable chucks carried by an endless conveyer, the chucks at the receiving end or point where the cans are placed thereon, being inclined upwardly so that the open ends of the cans are above the closed ends. As the chucks travel with the conveyer the same are continuously and quite rapidly rotated and simultaneously with the rotation, the chucks are tilted or rotated about an axis transverse to the axis of the first mentioned rotation, this tilting continuing until at the end of the path of travel, the open ends of the cans will be below the closed ends thereof, the combined axial rotation of the chucks and tilting thereof serving to uniformly spread the lacquer over the interior walls of the cans, the cans being ejected from the chucks at the opposite end of the machine to that where the cans are first placed upon the chucks.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1, is a side elevation of the machine embodying my improvements, showin in dotted lines various positions assumed y the cans while traveling with the chucks on the carrier, the latter being omitted to avoid confusion in the drawing. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1, the endless link conveyer being represented conventionally by (lot and dash line and four of the links of the conveyer with the chucks mounted thereon being shown to illustrate the different positions assumed by the various parts, and Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the portion of the endless conveyer which extends around the sprocket gear being omitted.

In said drawin the various parts are shown as supporte on a suitable frame 10, the latter having mounted thereon at the top a pair of parallel guidingtracks 11 and 12 in which moves a carrier in the form of an endless link chain 13, said link chain being continuously moved by a pair of sprocket ears 14: and 15 mounted on vertical sha ts, the shaft 16 for the sprocket gear 15 having a worm gear 17 thereon rotated by a worm 18 on a horizontal driving shaft 19, the latter being driven from any suitable source of power (not shown) by means of the pulley 20. Around each of the sprocket gears 14 and 15 extends a curved supporting table or shelf 21, the latter cooperating with the tracks 11 and 12 to support the endless chain conveyer.

Eachlink of the endless chain conveyer is provided with a pair of up-standing ears or brackets 22, between which is pivoted a chuck-holding bracket 23, the latter having rotatably mounted therein the spindle 24 of a magnetized, recessed chuck 25, said chuck 25 being adapted to receive and rotate a can body 26 or other article thereon to be coated. The inner end of each s indle 24 is provided with a weight in the orm of a roller 27, it being understood that the Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

weight of the roller 27 will always overbalance the weight of the chuck 25 and any article carried thereby. Slidably mounted within each c uck spindle 24 is an ejecting rod 28 operate by means of stationary cams 29, see Fig. 2.

The chucks are axially rotated and simultaneously tilted or rotated about an axistransverse to the axis of axial rotation by means of two endless belts 30 and 31 each mounted on a small sized pulley 32 and a large sized pulley 33, said pulleys 32 and 33 being fixed on short shafts 34. Each of the shafts 34 supporting the large pulleys 33 is rotated from any suitable outside source of power through pulleys 35, the direction of rotation being such that the tops of the belts 30 and 31 move in the directions indicated by the arrows a and b, respectively, and the endless conveyer being moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 0. As will be noted from the drawing, the small and large pulleys 32 and 33 for each belt, are op ositely arranged; that is, the small pulley or the belt 31 is opposite the large pulley 33 for the belt 31 and vice versa, so that the top portion of the belt 30 inclines upwardly from left to right as the machine is viewed in Fig. 1 and the top portion of the belt 31 inclines upwardly from right to left as the machine is viewed in Fig. 1. In order to prevent the belts 30 and 31 from sagging between the pulleys supporting inclined tracks 130 and 131 are provided.

The operation is as follows: The chucks are operated during each direction of travel in order to obtain the maximum output of the machine, so that the left hand end of the machine as viewed in Fig. 2, is the receiving end for the chucks while traveling over the track 12, and the right hand end of the machine, as viewed in Fig. 2, is the receiving end for the chucks while traveling over the track 11. The cans are placed on the chucks at the respective receiving ends, in which position the chucks are inclined upwardly as viewed on the right of Fig. 3. As the rollers 27 ride over the inclined belts, the chucks will be axially rotated and simultaneously tilted about the axis of the pivot about which the chuck-holding brackets 23 swing, the tilting or tipping of the chucks being continued until the same assume the position shown at the left of Fig. 3, whereupon the cans are ejected from the chucks by the means previously described and fall into chutes 36, after which the cans may be conducted to a baking or drying oven if de sired.

Although I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred embodiment of my invention, yet it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all such changes and modifications are comtemplated pended hereto.

Any suitable means may be provided for receiving the excess lacquer, in case the predetermined quantity of the same deposited within the cans should be more than will be retained on the Walls of the cans after it has been spread or distributed on said walls; the present invention not being dependent on the presence or nature of such lacquer receiving means.

I claim:

1. A coating machine of the character described including, in combination: an endless movable conveyer having a plurality of chucks bodily movable therewith and rotatably mounted thereon; and means for simultaneously axially rotating said chucks and tilting the same, said means including a movable inclined belt, substantially as specified.

'2. A coating machine of the character described including, in combination: an endless conveyer; a plurality of chuck-holding brackets pivotally mounted on said conveyer, each of said brackets having a chuck rotatably mounted therein, each chuck having a spindle; weighted rollers secured to the ends of said spindles; and an inclined track over which said rollers run and by which the same are rotated and raised to thereby rotate the chucks and tilt the same, substantially as specified.

3. A coatin machine of the character described inclu ing, in combination: an endless conveyer; a plurality of chuck-holding brackets pivotally mounted on said conveyer, each of said brackets having a chuck rotatably mounted therein, each chuck having a spindle; weighted rollers secured to the ends of said spindles; and an inclined track over which said rollers run and by which the same are rotated and raised to thereby rotate the chucks and tilt the same, said track comprising a movable belt, substantially as specified.

4. A coating machine of the character described, including, -in combination: a rotatable article-holding member; an endless 'conveyer with which the axis of the articleholding member is connected; and an endless belt arranged for axially rotating said member while it is being conveyed; the said combination comprising means for tilting the articleholding member, whereby the coating is spread.

5. A coating machine of the character described including, in combination: an article holding chuck; and means for rotating said chuck simultaneously about two different.

scribed including, in combination: a movable conveyer having a plurality of chucks rotatably mounted thereon; and means for axially rotating said chucks, and also continuously tilting the same and to opposite inclinations while rotating,- substantially as specified. i a

7. A coating machine of the character described including, in combination: an endless movable conveyer having a plurality of chucks bodily movable therewith in substantially horizontal planes, and rotatably mounted thereon; and means for simultaneously axially rotating said chucks and tilting the same to alternate inclinations, substantially as specified.

8. A coating machine of the character described including, in combination: a carrier movable in a horizontal plane and having a plurality of chucks rotatably mounted thereon; means for rotating said chucks, and means for alternately tilting said chucks from an upwardly inclined position to a downwardly inclined position while traveling with said carrier, to cause the coating to be distributed to both ends of the cans, substantially as specified.

9. A coating machine of the character de scribed including, in combination: an endless link chain conveyer, movable in a horizontal plane, chucks rotatably mounted in brackets pivotally secured to the links of said chain; and means for simultaneously axially rotating said chucks and tilting the same alternately to opposite inclinations about said pivotal connections to cause the coating to be distributed to both ends of the cans, substantially as specified. 1

10. A coating machine of the character described including, in combination: a continuously movable endless conveyer having a plurality of chucks rotatably mounted thereon; and means for simultaneously and rapidly rotating each of said chucks about one axis and slowly rotating the same about another axis while moving with said con-' veyer, to cause the coating to be distributed to both ends of the cans, substantially as specified.

11. A' coating machine of the character described including, in combination: a conless belts cooperating with the conveyer for simultaneously rotating each of said chucks about two different axes during each portion of their travel between said gears, substantially as specified. Y

13. In a coating machine of the character a downwardly inclined position to cause thecoating to be distributed ,tobo'th ends of the cans, substantially as specified.

14. A coating machine of the character described including, in combination: an endless conveyer having a plurality of magnetized chucks rotatabl and pivotally mounted thereon; means or simultaneously rotating said chucks and tilting the same from an upwardly inclined position to a downwardly inclined position, to cause the coating to be distributed toboth ends of the cans, and devices for ejecting the articles from the chucks after the latter have been tipped to their downwardly inclined position, substantially as specified.

15. A machine for interiorly coating cans, including, in combination: an endless chain conveyer; can holding chucks pivotally mounted at intervals on said conveyer; and

means for rotating said chucks on their axes and for tilting them bodily and inclining their axes of rotation alternately in both directions from the horizontal, to cause the coating to be distributed to both ends of th rotating cans.

16. A machine for'interiorly coating cans including, in combination: an endless conveyer; rotatable can holding chucks pivotally mounted at intervals on the said conveyer; rollers on the shafts of said chucks; and surfaces which are inclined to the plane of movement of the conveyer and which are engaged by the said rollers, to rotate and tilt the chucks.

17 A machine for interiorly coating cans including, in combination: an endless conveyer; rotatable can holding chucks pivotally mounted at intervals on the said conveyer; rollers on the shafts of said chucks;

and movable belts which are inclined to the plane of movement of the conveyer and which are engaged by the said'rollers, to rotate and tilt the chucks.

18. A machine for interiorly coating cans including, in combination: an endless chain.

conveyer; can. holding chucks pivotally mounted at intervals on the conveyer and rovided with can ejector rods arranged to be engaged with the heads of the cans; means for causing the rotation of said chucks; and means for projecting th said ejector rods beyond the ends of the chucks against which projecting means the ejector rods are caused to engage by the movement of the endless conveyer, the axes of pivoting of the said chucks being at an angle to the axes of rotation of the chucks.

19. A coating machine of the character described including, in combination: an endless conveyer'having a plurality of magnetized chucks rotatably and pivotally mounted thereon; and means for simultaneously rotating said chucks and tilting the same from an upwardly inclined position to a downwardly inclined position, substantially as specified.

20. A coating machine of the character described including, in combination: an endless conveyer having a plurality of mag.-.

netized chucks rotatably and pivotally mounted thereon; means for simultaneously rotating said chucks and tilting the same from an upwardly inclined position to a downwardly inclined position; and devices for ejecting the articles from the chucks after the latter have been tipped to their downwardly inclined position, substantially as specified.

JOHN G. HODGSON. Witnesses:

WILLIAM A. GEIGER, ESTHER ABRAMs. 

